Nekomata waved to Billy and left. Before she went, she glanced once more in the direction Nicole and Zane had taken.
Hopefully, this trip would turn out well...
...
"What are you two doing…"
Zane looked at the two cats glaring at each other in the back of the truck, a dark line forming across his face. He had no idea what had caused the standoff.
"Meow~"
The little white cat resting comfortably on his lap let out a lazy meow, clearly content to just watch the drama unfold.
"Little Black, go handle it."
Zane turned to the little black cat curled up in the back corner of the truck. There was plenty of room in the cargo bed, so all the cats were riding inside.
"Meow—"
The black cat meowed reluctantly, looking like it didn't want to move. Zane smiled coldly and said,
"Little guy, I'm the boss now..."
The black cat's fur instantly puffed up. It scrambled to its feet, cast a wary glance at Zane, and then slowly strutted over to the dueling pair.
A proper boss still needed to maintain a sense of elegance among the lower ranks.
"Meow—"
It gave a warning meow, clearly trying to resolve the situation peacefully—but the two cats ignored it completely.
The little black cat's expression darkened.
Can't even beat humans anymore? Had a few good days and already forgotten who's in charge?
It raised its head and slowly lifted a paw.
Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!...
A rapid barrage of smacks followed. The two feuding cats instantly went quiet, crouching on either side without a sound. The little black cat forcibly separated them.
It meowed again, reporting its success to Zane.
Zane had been watching the whole thing. Seeing this, he nodded slightly and was about to speak—when the truck suddenly jolted.
The inertia nearly made him slam his head forward, but he managed to steady himself just in time.
"Nicole, what the hell are you doing?!"
"There's a police car behind us!"
"What?!"
Zane turned to look. Sure enough, a police cruiser with flashing lights was right on their tail—but it hadn't turned on its sirens.
"Nicole, pull over. It's probably just a routine check—there's no siren."
But Nicole shook her head firmly.
"No can do. We've got too many cats in here. That breaks public security regulations—we'd get fined!"
Hearing that, Zane thought back to the regulations he'd read while at the Public Security Bureau. He said quickly,
"It's fine. Worst case, you lose a few license points and pay a small fine. It's not serious, and you can restore the points later."
"Plus, once we've been fined for this, they won't check us again on the same grounds. It's basically a free pass."
Thanks to Qingyi and Zhu Yuan, Zane was pretty familiar with these things. He knew this wasn't a big deal.
"I know all that, but..."
"I don't have a license!"
"Huh?!"
Zane stared in disbelief, and several cats poked their heads out, sensing the tension.
Even the little white cat on his lap suddenly looked unsettled.
Just as Nicole finished speaking, the police car's siren blared—clearly, the officers had taken action after seeing Nicole accelerate instead of stopping.
Zane's expression shifted. He frowned and looked at Nicole, but before he could say anything, she dropped another bomb.
"Zane, also... this truck's illegally modified."
Then she gave him a smile that was meant to be reassuring and added,
"But don't worry, I've got a plan!"
"What are you going to do?"
"Lose the cops, of course! Trust me—you're about to see what a Hare's House special vehicle can really do!"
Nicole let go of the wheel with one hand, flipped open a black panel, and revealed a bright red button.
Zane's pupils shrank.
There was no way that kind of hidden red button could be anything good!
Nicole didn't hesitate—she slammed her hand down on the button, grinning proudly.
"Eat my dust!"
From the police car's perspective, they suddenly saw four thick pipes extend from the back of the truck—and then a jet of pale blue flame erupted.
Operating in the grey zones of society, even Hare's House vehicles had to come with serious upgrades!
Inside the truck, Zane felt a jolt of acceleration shove him back, and the scenery outside blurred as the vehicle rocketed forward.
"Zane, did you know there's a movie all about street racing?"
Nicole's excited tone reached Zane's ears—and he felt a chill of dread.
"What did you say—?"
"I said—"
"I'm the new Akiyama Mountain Drift Queen!"
...
"Meow meow meow—!"
"You're such a scaredy-cat! We're already out of the truck and you still won't come down. Look at Little White—not nearly as pathetic as you…"
The little black cat clung to Zane's clothes, buried its head, and refused to move. The ride had clearly traumatized it.
Zane held it in one hand, about to scold it using the little white cat as an example—until he noticed Little White wasn't being brave either. It had gone limp from fear and couldn't even stand up. That's why it seemed calm…
The rest of the cats, having missed the full view of the chaos, were relatively unaffected—just dizzy from all the bouncing around.
"Nicole!"
Sensing Zane's glare, Nicole rubbed her sore backside and smiled awkwardly.
"I didn't expect things to go like that… But hey, I lost the cops, right? No real harm done…"
Zane's expression darkened. He reached out and thumped her lightly—but firmly—on the forehead.
"Ow…"
Nicole winced, cupped her forehead, and puffed her cheeks, but didn't argue back. She could tell he was actually a little mad.
"What would you have done if something went wrong? You, this whole truck full of cats—if we hadn't dodged in time just now…"
"Well, that's why you're here…"
Nicole mumbled, eyes downcast.
Zane opened his mouth but couldn't come up with a retort. A few stress marks appeared on his forehead.
"Nicole..."
"Okay, okay! I was wrong! I won't do it again!"
Seeing that Zane wasn't letting it go, Nicole clasped her fingers together, gave a little shimmy, blinked her eyes sweetly, and put on her best innocent face.
"I really mean it… no next time…"
Zane's mouth twitched. He turned away, no longer looking at her, and started unloading the cats from the truck.
Behind him, Nicole saw this and thought he'd already forgiven her. She put her hands on her hips and beamed, calling out cheerfully—